I consider myself liberal at a school where you are constantly reminded that “W” is still president. With the array of black-and-white bumper stickers and shirts how could anyone forget the majority of our campus is Bush supporters? I realized this when I wore my “Vote for Kerry” hat in my History 2057 class and my professor found it appropriate to announce that all those content with the outcome of the 2004 election can keep breathing. I guess I should be dead now.
But, now the entire country is facing the dilemma of the people of New Orleans, coping with the dangers of republican hell and democratic high water. One party is proud of its viciousness, while the other claims not to be vicious but proudly proclaims its willingness to shoot desperate refugees.
“They have M-16s and they’re locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so,” said Kathleen Blanco, democrat.
The degree of democratic callousness in the New Orleans tragedy may be shocking at first, but it is actually consistent with the direction the party has taken for the past two decades. The democrats are dying a slow political death. Their actions in New Orleans are just one of the most recent pieces of evidence.
In the summer of 2005, President Bush’s approval ratings took a much-noticed dive. The plunge was not the result of any clever political moves by the democrats. Iraq is bringing Bush down. His approval ratings are parallel to Richard Nixon’s at the time of his resignation. The issue that could have catapulted John Kerry into the White House is rearing its head yet again, but democrats refuse to take the challenge.
For the record, party leadership boldly states they will continue to support a president whose policies have now become a liability for his own administration. They repeat John Kerry’s losing talking points as if they were religious scripture. Hillary Clinton, the likely nominee in 2008, advocates sending more troops to Iraq. Only one democratic senator and likely candidate for president, Russell Feingold, has publicly called for a withdrawal of American troops.
The rest chose to stay on the sinking ship. “The smartest thing democrats can do is be supportive,” said former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry. It has to be a first for a political party to make a conscious decision not to kick an opposition while they are down.
On the same day the mayor of New Orleans begged for help and thousands of refugees told horror stories of being left to fend for themselves without food, water or adequate sanitation, Bill Clinton agreed to raise corporate money with Bush.
The love fest with Bush was a shameful performance on Clinton’s part. When asked why the government wasn’t taking stronger action to get the people out of the Superdome, Clinton said, “So I understand why they’re so anxiety-ridden. But they have to understand, by the time it became obvious that they were in the fix they were in, there were a lot of other problems, too.”
Clinton could have been worse. He could have bragged about shoot-to-kill orders.
I was once a big fan of Clinton and would prefer him over many others, but if Clinton really wanted to help New Orleans, he could have been the voice of an indignant and outraged nation.
As a former president, he was uniquely qualified to ask why the Department of Homeland Security kept no one in the Gulf Coast secure. He also has, or rather had, the unique ability to send republicans into a frenzy of rage.
Now look at his successors, who seem to be more worried about politics than principles. Mary Landrieu, democratic Louisiana senator said, “I want to thank the president.”
Whether the issue is Iraq or Hurricane Katrina, millions of Democrats still live in hope that their party will fight for them. Instead they are left disappointed and angry after years of electoral failure and complacency.
The Republican Party won’t suffer when Bush is unable and unwilling to help thousands of poor Americans suffering from a natural disaster. I agreed with Kanye West when he said Bush doesn’t care about black people, nor, for that matter, poor people of any race.
The Republican Party won’t suffer when he arrives at the disaster scene and messes up a simple photo-op by laughing and smirking inappropriately and talking about Trent Lott’s destroyed vacation home.
In the meantime, the democrats are like New Orleans, engulfed by debris and unable to answer pleas for help, and the republicans are not too far down the road. I consider myself liberal at a school where you are constantly reminded that “W” is still president. With the array of black-and-white bumper stickers and shirts how could anyone forget the majority of our campus is Bush supporters? I realized this when I wore my “Vote for Kerry” hat in my History 2057 class and my professor found it appropriate to announce that all those content with the outcome of the 2004 election can keep breathing. I guess I should be dead now.
But, now the entire country is facing the dilemma of the people of New Orleans, coping with the dangers of republican hell and democratic high water. One party is proud of its viciousness, while the other claims not to be vicious but proudly proclaims its willingness to shoot desperate refugees.
“They have M-16s and they’re locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill, and they are more than willing to do so,” said Kathleen Blanco, democrat.
The degree of democratic callousness in the New Orleans tragedy may be shocking at first, but it is actually consistent with the direction the party has taken for the past two decades. The democrats are dying a slow political death. Their actions in New Orleans are just one of the most recent pieces of evidence.
In the summer of 2005, President Bush’s approval ratings took a much-noticed dive. The plunge was not the result of any clever political moves by the democrats. Iraq is bringing Bush down. His approval ratings are parallel to Richard Nixon’s at the time of his resignation. The issue that could have catapulted John Kerry into the White House is rearing its head yet again, but democrats refuse to take the challenge.
For the record, party leadership boldly states they will continue to support a president whose policies have now become a liability for his own administration. They repeat John Kerry’s losing talking points as if they were religious scripture. Hillary Clinton, the likely nominee in 2008, advocates sending more troops to Iraq. Only one democratic senator and likely candidate for president, Russell Feingold, has publicly called for a withdrawal of American troops.
The rest chose to stay on the sinking ship. “The smartest thing democrats can do is be supportive,” said former Clinton press secretary Mike McCurry. It has to be a first for a political party to make a conscious decision not to kick an opposition while they are down.
On the same day the mayor of New Orleans begged for help and thousands of refugees told horror stories of being left to fend for themselves without food, water or adequate sanitation, Bill Clinton agreed to raise corporate money with Bush.
The love fest with Bush was a shameful performance on Clinton’s part. When asked why the government wasn’t taking stronger action to get the people out of the Superdome, Clinton said, “So I understand why they’re so anxiety-ridden. But they have to understand, by the time it became obvious that they were in the fix they were in, there were a lot of other problems, too.”
Clinton could have been worse. He could have bragged about shoot-to-kill orders.
I was once a big fan of Clinton and would prefer him over many others, but if Clinton really wanted to help New Orleans, he could have been the voice of an indignant and outraged nation.
As a former president, he was uniquely qualified to ask why the Department of Homeland Security kept no one in the Gulf Coast secure. He also has, or rather had, the unique ability to send republicans into a frenzy of rage.
Now look at his successors, who seem to be more worried about politics than principles. Mary Landrieu, democratic Louisiana senator said, “I want to thank the president.”
Whether the issue is Iraq or Hurricane Katrina, millions of Democrats still live in hope that their party will fight for them. Instead they are left disappointed and angry after years of electoral failure and complacency.
The Republican Party won’t suffer when Bush is unable and unwilling to help thousands of poor Americans suffering from a natural disaster. I agreed with Kanye West when he said Bush doesn’t care about black people, nor, for that matter, poor people of any race.
The Republican Party won’t suffer when he arrives at the disaster scene and messes up a simple photo-op by laughing and smirking inappropriately and talking about Trent Lott’s destroyed vacation home.
In the meantime, the democrats are like New Orleans, engulfed by debris and unable to answer pleas for help, and the republicans are not too far down the road.